Bucks Council has celebrated its new gritters after a test drive 'Winter Parade' testing 25 routes across the county.

On Friday, October 10, Buckinghamshire Highways' winter vehicles, including a new 25-strong fleet of bright orange ECON Engineering gritters, could be seen practising routes from Gawcott, Aylesbury, Amersham and Handy Cross depots.

The council stated that the annual event ensures the fleet is ready for winter.

It stated that teams are on standby 'round-the-clock' from October to March.

It said: "This ensures Buckinghamshire's most frequented roads and priority routes are treated, keeping traffic flowing and roads safer from the impact of winter conditions.

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"Approximately 44 percent of the county's highways network (870 miles) is categorised as a primary route, a significant amount more than other local authority areas.

"These priority routes are gritted when road surface temperatures - which can be up to 5°C cooler than the air temperature - are predicted to drop below 0.5°C."

The council added that last winter 65 gritting runs were completed covering 54,119 miles.

It said the fleet of gritters covered a greater distance than travelling around the Earth's equator twice.

Thomas Broom, Cabinet Member for Transport, commented: "I'm sure the public will be pleased to spot the new orange gritting fleet take to the roads of Buckinghamshire, and I urge you all to give the drivers a wave if you see them."

"Winter driving can be hazardous at times, even when roads are well gritted.

"Please remember that grit is not a failsafe and just because a road has been gritted this doesn't mean it won't still be icy.

"Road users should drive according to the road conditions and the weather, taking extra care where necessary."

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Four new roads have been added to the gritting routes this year:

The council added that it has restocked over 1,200 salt bins across the county.

It said this is 'perfect for treating local roads and pavements not on gritting routes'.

Cllr Broom added: "Thank you in advance to our expert drivers and winter crews, who are now set to be on call 24 hours a day for the next six months, even over Christmas.

"They carry out an extremely important job in helping to keep our roads safe over the winter."

The reason gritters with snow ploughs have already taken to Bucks roads this autumn